Launch Events

On 6 June 2013, The Lancet published a new Series on maternal and child nutrition, featuring new data and policy recommendations.

The papers are a follow-up to The Lancet’s landmark 2008 Series, which helped put nutrition on the global health and development agenda and identified the 1,000 days of a mother’s pregnancy until her child’s 2nd birthday as the priority window for impact.

Authored by the Maternal and Child Nutrition Study Group – a renowned set of global health and development academics and practitioners – the Series consists of four papers and a Call to Action commentary from the authors.

Paper 1 considers the prevalence and consequences of nutritional conditions during the life course from adolescence (for girls) through pregnancy to childhood and discusses the implications for adult health. Paper 2 covers the evidence supporting the nutrition-specific interventions and the health impact and cost of increasing their population coverage. Paper 3 considers nutrition-sensitive interventions and approaches and their potential to improve nutrition. Paper 4 examines the features of an enabling environment that are needed to provide support for nutrition programs, and how they can be favorably influenced. The Comment examines what is currently being done, and what should be done nationally and internationally to address nutritional and developmental needs of women and children in low- and middle-income countries.